The Heel-Catcher Is Born

SCHEMING JACOB – July 4, 2010

There are many who scheme and connive and plot and deceive as they travel down life’s road. They do this in order to try to benefit and better themselves. Instead of trusting the Lord for His best they try to work things out their way. Often they want what is good (happiness, security, freedom, a bright future, a good marriage, etc.) but they try to obtain what is good in the wrong way.

Are you a schemer? Are you a trickster? Jacob certainly was, and in this chapter we will look at some of the tricks he played. We will also see that God allowed Jacob to be tricked, just as he had tricked others. It does not pay to scheme and Jacob had to learn this the hard way.

The "Heel-Catcher" is Born

Isaac’s wife Rebekah had twins. According to Genesis 25:25, who was the elder of the two (the one to come out first)? __ESAU___

Who was the younger of the two (Genesis 25:26)? __JACOB____

As Jacob was born, what did he grab with his hand (Genesis 25:26)? _ESAU’S HEEL___

Gen 25:25-26 25And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

The name "JACOB" means "heel-catcher, supplanter, one who takes the place of another by treachery or trickery." Did Esau think that Jacob was given the right name (Genesis 27:36)? _YES__

Gen 27:36 36And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

The Whole Family Was Guilty

Before the boys were born God told Rebekah something very important: "and the __ELDER____ shall serve the __YOUNGER____" (Genesis 25:23). Who was the ELDER? __ESAU____ Who was the YOUNGER? __JACOB __ Thus, God was saying that __ESAU____ would serve __JACOB__. According to God, which son would be BLESSED, Jacob or Esau? __JACOB__

Gen 25:23 23And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

1) Isaac was guilty. Even though God had said that the blessing would go to Jacob, Isaac was determined to give it to his favorite son Esau (see Genesis 25:28; 27:1,4). He was fighting against God’s will.

2) Rebekah was guilty. Even though Rebekah knew God’s promise that Jacob (her favorite son) would be blessed, she still tried to bring this about by a deceptive scheme (Genesis 25:28; 27:6-10). She tried to get the right thing in the wrong way.

3) Jacob was guilty. He went along with his mother’s scheme and became a deceiver and a liar (Genesis 27:12,19).

4) Esau was guilty. Esau wanted the blessing that really did not belong to him and when he lost the blessing he was angry to the point of wanting to commit murder (Genesis 27:41). Compare Hebrews 12:16-17.

Gen 25:28 28And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Gen 27:1-4 1And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. 2And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: 3Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; 4And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

Gen 27:6-10 6And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 7Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death. 8Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 9Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: 10And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

Gen 27:12-19 12My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. 13And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. 14And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. 15And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: 16And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: 17And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 19And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

Gen 27:41 41And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

Every member of the family was in the wrong! But God was in the right and God was working out His wonderful plan.

Scheme #1--Taking Away the Birthright

According to Genesis 25:27, who was the outdoor man and who was the indoor man?

__ESAU - OUTDOOR / JACOB - INDOOR______

One day Esau came home from the field famished. Jacob happened to have just what Esau wanted: POTTAGE (lentil stew). Instead of giving him the pottage for free Jacob took advantage of the opportunity (see Genesis 25:29-34). He made a deal with his brother: "Esau, you have what I want and I have what you want. I’ll give you the pottage and you give me your birthright!" Jacob was able to get Esau to "sign on the dotted line" and the deal was made! Esau was tricked and later he would be very sorry for what he had done (Genesis 27:36).

Gen 25:29-34 29And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 30And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. 31And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. 32And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

Scheme #2--Taking Away the Blessing

We read about Scheme #2 in Genesis chapter 27. Jacob and Esau are no longer boys. They are 77 years old. Their father Isaac is very aged. He is 137 years old and he could not see (Genesis 27:1).

Read Genesis 27:8,12-13. Should parents always be obeyed?_YES_ Should Jacob have obeyed Rebekah in this case? _NO____ Why or why not? ______

Gen 27:12-13 12My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. 13And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

In Genesis 27:12 what word describes what Jacob actually was? __DECEIVER______

Consider Genesis 27:13. Suppose you have a friend that wants you to participate in something that is wrong (going to a wrong place or doing something that is wrong). Suppose your friend says something like Rebekah said to Jacob: "Don’t worry. If we get caught, I’ll take all the blame." What is wrong with this kind of thinking? Is it possible for a person to do wrong and not suffer the consequences? Read Matthew 27:24-25. The Jews said, "We’ll take the blame for crucifying Christ. Don’t worry Pilate. You just let us do what we want to do and we will take full responsibility." Did this make Pilate innocent? _NO_ Even though Pilate washed his hands, did God consider him innocent? _NO_

Did Pilate sin too (see John 19:11)? _YES__

John 19:11 11Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

Rebekah knew God’s promise (Genesis 25:23) but she tried a carnal scheme to try to bring it to pass. And Jacob (who was certainly old enough to know better) went along with this scheme and fully participated in the deception.

Matt 27:24-25 24When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. 25Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

Jacob Encounters Some Problems

Usually our evil plans and plots do not work out as well as we had hoped. What was the first question Isaac asked (Genesis 27:18)? _Who are you?______

Jacob was probably hoping that he would not have to lie with his mouth, but his sin of deception led to the next sin of lying (like the downward spiral we talked about in the last chapter).

Notice the next embarrassing question that the father asked in verse 20. "How did you kill the animals and prepare the meat so quickly? Esau usually takes more time than this!" Notice how Jacob answers (verse 20). Not only does he lie but he brings God’s Name into it! Does this make the sin even worse?

In verse 21 Isaac says, "Come near. I want to FEEL you!" Jacob surely must have been getting hot under his goat’s collar by now! Notice verse 24. Lie follows lie!

Gen 27:20-21 20And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me. 21And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

Gen 27:23-24 23And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him. 24And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

Isaac Gets Right With the Lord

Isaac was determined to give his blessing to his favorite son Esau even though God had revealed otherwise (see Genesis 25:23). Finally when Isaac discovered that he had been tricked into blessing Jacob, he "trembled very exceedingly" (literally, he trembled with a great trembling greatly)--see Genesis 27:33. HE WAS CAUGHT IN THE ACT! God caught up with Isaac and Isaac finally realized it. He realized that he was tricked into doing what he should have done all along! It is as if Isaac were saying, "Lord, You are right and I am wrong. I have been fighting against Your will all these years but now I’m ready to surrender. I want You to have Your way! I have blessed Jacob and HE SHALL BE BLESSED (Genesis 27:33)."

Gen 27:33 33And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.

Jacob Goes To Get A Wife

Jacob made a journey to Haran to find a wife. When a man is 77 years old it is a good time to begin thinking about marriage! Jacob's mother Rebekah was also from Haran. Jacob began his journey not only to find a wife but also to get away from Esau (see Genesis 27:41-43).

This was a dangerous and difficult trip. Jacob had to travel hundreds of miles ALONE. And remember, he was not the kind of person who loved the great "out-of-doors." He enjoyed staying at home near Mother (Genesis 25:27). It was on this trip that God met with Jacob in a special way (Genesis 28:10-22). God began doing a work in Jacob’s heart, but there were still many lessons that God had to teach Jacob. Finally Jacob arrived at his destination and he met Laban (Genesis 29:13-14). JACOB HAS FINALLY MET HIS MATCH! Laban wasted no time in hatching a fantastic plot to catch the heel-catcher and to out-deceive the deceiver! Jacob’s sin was going to catch up to him!

The Trickster Is Tricked!

Laban happened to have just what Jacob wanted: RACHEL (see Genesis 29:15-20). Instead of giving him Rachel for free, Laban took advantage of the opportunity. He made a deal with Jacob. Does this remind you of the deal that Jacob once made with hungry Esau? (see Scheme #1)

It is as if Laban were saying something like this: "Jacob, you have what I want and I have what you want. I’ll give you Rachel and you give me seven years of hard work." Laban was able to get Jacob to "sign on the dotted line" and the deal was made! This again reminds us of the time Jacob forced Esau to sign on the dotted line!

Seven years seemed like nothing to Jacob (Genesis 29:20). He would gladly have "climbed the highest mountain, crossed the hottest desert and sailed the deepest ocean" for her! He would gladly put in seven years for the girl he loved!

At the end of these seven years Jacob is 84 years old. The time has come for the wedding (Genesis 29:21-22). Instead of giving him Rachel, who did Laban give him (Genesis 29:23)? _LEAH____ Remember, during the wedding the bride is veiled! Jacob thought that it was Rachel but he was completely mistaken, and in the morning, "BEHOLD, IT WAS __LEAH__" (Genesis 29:25). Jacob was tricked! Does this remind you of another earlier case of mistaken identity?